§ 38a-769 — (Formerly Sec. 38-72). Application for license. Regulations. Exceptions.

Connecticut § 38a-769

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 38a: Insurance
• Ch. 702: Licensing

Text

(a) Any person, partnership, association or corporation that is resident in this state, or a nonresident of this state who is not licensed in any other state that offers the type of license sought in this state and maintains a principal place of business in this state, desiring to act within this state as a public adjuster, casualty adjuster, motor vehicle physical damage appraiser, certified insurance consultant, surplus lines broker or desiring to engage in any insurance-related occupation for which a license is deemed necessary by the commissioner, other than an occupation as an insurance producer, shall make a written application to the commissioner for a resident license. Any other person, partnership, association or corporation desiring to so act or to engage in any insurance-related occupation for which a license is deemed necessary by the commissioner, other than an occupation as an insurance producer, shall make a written application to the commissioner for a nonresident license. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, no application for a nonresident license shall be granted unless the applicant holds an equivalent license from any other state. Any application for a resident or nonresident license shall be made for each name or designation under which such business shall be conducted, in such form as the commissioner prescribes, stating the line or lines of insurance for which the applicant desires such license and any other business which the applicant desires also to transact. All initial applications shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable filing fee specified in section 38a-11 . The commissioner shall cause to be made such inquiry and examination as to the qualifications of each such applicant as the commissioner deems necessary. (c) Any person, partnership, association or corporation residing in a state that does not offer the type of license sought by such person, partnership, association or corporation in this state may make a written application to the commissioner for a nonresident license and designate this state as such person's, association's or corporation's home state. (d) Each application for a license shall be signed by: The applicant, if the application is for an individual; a licensed officer, if the application is for a corporation; a licensed partner, if the application is for a partnership; and a licensed principal, if the application is for any other applicant. (e) Each applicant for a license shall furnish satisfactory evidence to the commissioner that the applicant is a person of good moral character and that the applicant is financially responsible. In order to determine the trustworthiness and competency of an applicant the commissioner shall subject the applicant to personal written examination as to the applicant's competency to act as a licensee for each line of insurance for which the applicant desires to be licensed. The commissioner may, at the commissioner's discretion, designate an independent testing service to prepare and administer such examination, provided any examination fees charged by such service shall be paid by the applicant. The commissioner shall collect the appropriate examination fee as specified in section 38a-11 , which shall entitle the applicant to take the examination for the license desired, except that when a testing service is used, the testing service shall pay such fee to the commissioner for each examination taken by an applicant. In either case, each such examination shall be as the commissioner prescribes and shall be of sufficient scope to test the applicant's knowledge of insurance, the duties and responsibilities of a licensee and the laws of this state applicable to insurance. The commissioner may require a waiting period not exceeding six months, before reexamining any applicant who has failed to pass any such examination. (f) Upon finding that an applicant meets the licensing requirements of this title and is in all respects properly qualified and trustworthy and that the granting of such license is not against the public interest, the commissioner may issue to such applicant the license applied for, in such form as the commissioner may adopt, to act within this state to the extent therein specified. (g) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, concerning the approval of schools offering courses in insurance, the content of such courses and the advertising to the public of the services of these schools. (h) To further the enforcement of this section and to determine the eligibility of any licensee, the commissioner may, as often as the commissioner deems necessary, examine the books and records of any such licensee. (i) A license may, in the discretion of the commissioner, be renewed or continued upon payment of the appropriate fee as specified in section 38a-11 , without the resubmittal of the detailed information required in the original application. (j) The provisions of subsections (b) to (i), inclusive, of this section shall be applicable to any licensee or applicant for a license, including, but not limited to, such licensee engaged in, or such applicant who seeks to become licensed to engage in, the occupation of insurance producer. See Sec. 38a-413 for title agent and title insurer exemption. See Sec. 38a-772 re misrepresentation in application for license. See Sec. 38a-773 re impersonation in taking examination.

Legislative History

(1949 Rev., S. 6060; 1949, 1951, 1955, S. 2787d; 1957, P.A. 355; 1959, P.A. 472, S. 1; February, 1965, P.A. 196, S. 2; 552, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 47, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 82; 1971, P.A. 393; P.A. 75-409, S. 1, 2; P.A. 80-228, S. 3; P.A. 81-314, S. 1, 4; P.A. 82-30, S. 1, 2; 82-96, S. 1, 8; P.A. 83-201; 83-476, S. 1; P.A. 84-403, S. 2, 3; P.A. 85-84; P.A. 88-44; P.A. 89-251, S. 180, 203; P.A. 90-243, S. 26; P.A. 91-29, S. 3, 8; P.A. 94-160, S. 13, 24; P.A. 99-45, S. 1; P.A. 01-113, S. 20, 42; P.A. 02-19, S. 2; P.A. 05-29, S. 2; P.A. 23-127, S. 2.) History: 1959 act inserted provisions re examination for each line of insurance, $5 fee for three-time examination and waiting period before reexamination; 1965 acts deleted reference to assessment of fees “subject to the provisions of section 12-211” and added provision re required prerequisites for admission to license examination and re commissioner's power to regulate approval of schools, course content and advertising of school's services; 1967 act allowed waiver of examination for life agent's or broker's license and fire or casualty agent's or broker's license in new Subdivs. (f) and (g); 1969 act imposed filing fee of $5 for initial applications and deleted “three times” in provision re applicant's right to take any one of the examinations upon payment of $5 fee; 1971 act extended examination waiver by adding Subdiv. (h) and specified that licenses issued under waiver authorize solicitation of policies covering automobile physical damage item, credit life or credit accident and health; P.A. 75-409 made previous provisions Subsec. (a), redesignating alphabetic Subdiv. indicators accordingly and added Subsec. (b) re commissioner's regulation power; P.A. 80-228 allowed waiver of examination for agent's license to sell home warranty contracts or service agreements; P.A. 81-314 divided Subsec. (a) into Subsecs. (a) to (g) and relettered former Subsec. (b) accordingly, increased hours that an applicant for insurance agent's or broker's license fulfill as a prerequisite to being admitted to examination from 20 to 40 for each line of insurance and required that applicants for public adjuster's license prove completion of an approved course of at least 40 hours and that fees for agents' licenses be assessed biennially rather than annually, effective May 21, 1982; P.A. 82-30 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that commissioner may waive licensure examination requirement for applicants licensed within two years rather than five years of the application date; P.A. 82-96 amended Subsec. (e) to provide that brokers' and public adjusters' licenses be renewed every two years and that their license fees be assessed every two years rather than annually as was previously the case; P.A. 83-201 amended Subsec. (b) to allow the commissioner to waive the examination requirement for any applicant for an agent's license to sell automobile mechanical breakdown insurance; P.A. 83-476 amended Subsec. (a) to subject casualty adjusters, physical damage appraisers, certified insurance consultants and excess line brokers to the licensing requirements of the section, plus any other occupation where a license is deemed necessary by the commissioner, and raised the filing fee for initial applications from $5 to $20; P.A. 84-403 amended Subsec. (b) to require that each applicant for a title insurance license, except those holding a valid license on June 12, 1984, shall be an attorney in good standing; P.A. 85-84 amended Subsec. (b) to permit the commissioner to designate an independent testing service to prepare and administer the license examination, and to permit the commissioner to waive the examination requirement for applicants for title insurance licenses; P.A. 88-44 amended Subsec. (a) to require that a license application be made for each name or designation under which business shall be conducted; P.A. 89-251 increased the filing fee from $20 to $25 and increased the examination fee from $5 to $7; P.A. 90-243 revised the guidelines and the criteria required for obtaining a resident or nonresident license, deleted the waiver requirements, deleted Subsecs. (c), (e), (f) and (h), relettered Subsecs. (b) and (e), deleted the failure to use or improper use of licenses provision in Subsec. (d), added a new Subsec. (f) which provides that the books and records of a licensee be examined by the commissioner and added a new Subsec. (g) allowing licenses to be renewed or continued in the commissioner's discretion without the resubmittal of information in the original detailed application; Sec. 38-72 transferred to Sec. 38a-769 in 1991; P.A. 91-29 made technical changes to Subsec. (a), deleting reference to insurance administrators; P.A. 94-160 substituted “producer” for “agent of any insurer” to accurately reflect the modernization and nomenclature of the industry, amended Subsec. (a) by specifying that filing fee for initial application is nonrefundable, made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (b), and added a new Subsec. (h) re when licensure of an insurance producer is not required, effective January 1, 1996; P.A. 99-45 amended Subsec. (a) to add “or a nonresident of this state who is not licensed in any other state” re persons desiring to act within this state as an insurance producer, public adjuster, casualty adjuster, etc., and substituted, re granting a nonresident license if applicant holds an equivalent license, “from any other state” for “from the state in which the applicant resides”; P.A. 01-113 deleted reference to insurance producer in Subsec. (a), deleted provisions re title insurance licenses in Subsec. (c), made technical changes in Subsec. (e) re regulations, deleted Subsec. (h) re situations where no license as an insurance producer is required, and made technical changes for the purpose of gender neutrality in Subsecs. (a), (c), (d), (e) and (f), effective September 1, 2002; P.A. 02-19 amended Subsec. (a) to add “other than an occupation as an insurance producer”, effective September 1, 2002; P.A. 05-29 amended Subsec. (a) to substitute “that is resident in this state or has its principal place” for “resident, or with its principal place”; P.A. 23-127 amended Subsec. (a) to delete “or has its principal place of business in this state”, add “that offers the type of license sought in this state and maintains a principal place of business in this state”, added new Subsec. (b) re “except as provided in subsection (c) of this section” with existing nonresident license application provisions previously contained in Subsec. (a), added new Subsec. (c) re nonresident person or entity may submit application for nonresident license and designate this state as home state, added Subsec. (j) re provisions of Subsecs. (b) to (i) are applicable to any license or applicant for a license, including insurance producers and redesignated existing Subsecs. (b) to (g) as Subsecs. (d) to (i). Annotation to former section 38-72: Cited. 162 C. 506. Annotation to present section: Cited. 45 CA 368. Provisions of section in their entirety are not applicable to insurance producers; Insurance Department's continuous interpretation of applying Subsecs. (c) and (d) to insurance producers since enactment of Sec. 38a-702a et seq. is not reasonable, however, commissioner retains discretion beyond Sec. 38a-702a et seq. to deny insurance producer licenses pursuant to Secs. 46a-80 and 46a-81. 148 CA 234.